Mab
Maben Irai
The Lady of Dreams, Daughter of Nanasre, the Unquiet Herald, the Howinit Ghoul. Maben Irai has gone by many names and worn many masks in her lifetime. None, however, are renown or as infamous as her highest designation: Her Splendor, Queen Mab of the Winter Court. Descended from the first Queen of Winter and the representative of House Irai, Mab was well known and respected from a young age. Since her election, she has reigned over the unseelie for over eight thousand years and is beloved, respected, and feared.
Appearance
Tall and svelte, Mab's power was never her beauty, but rather her sheer presence and command within a space. Unbowed by millennia of responsibility, she carries herself with dignity and confidence. Every step is exact and her mannerisms disciplined.
A hallmark of classical fae beauty, Mab appears youthful and flawless. Her pointed face is perfectly symmetrical with attentive silver eyes beneath dark, slanted brows, a strong, straight nose, and full lips with a distinctly sharp cupid's bow. To mortal eyes she is a youthful woman in her prime -- a specimen of otherworldly beauty, young yet ancient.
To fae eyes, however, her years and the stress of ruling a major Court has begun to show in the tired lines of her sharp features. Her gaze is as sharp as ever and she holds her head high, but she appears bored with her station.
A hallmark of classical fae beauty, Mab appears youthful and flawless. Her pointed face is perfectly symmetrical with attentive silver eyes beneath dark, slanted brows, a strong, straight nose, and full lips with a distinctly sharp cupid's bow. To mortal eyes she is a youthful woman in her prime -- a specimen of otherworldly beauty, young yet ancient.
To fae eyes, however, her years and the stress of ruling a major Court has begun to show in the tired lines of her sharp features. Her gaze is as sharp as ever and she holds her head high, but she appears bored with her station.
Duanann Affinity
Colloquially known as the Lady of Dreams, Mab has maintained her reputation as a very private practitioner of her domain. While her gifts are publicly acknowledged, she has never sold her services and few are privy to the finer details of how her affinity functions. Fewer still are aware of its drawbacks, though there is a great deal of speculation within her Court. Guests in the Scarlet Hall have often claimed to have strange dreaming patterns when Her Splendor is in residence, and more than one troublesome Lord has been afflicted with nightmares for earning her ire.
Mab has spent thousands of years perfecting her affinity to an art and can freely manipulate the dreams of others. She can choose the nature of the dream, crafting whole worlds in fine detail or simply directing the active dreams of her targets. She can gain a sense of the content of one's dreams and, with more refined effort, can "enter" dreams via meditation and alteration. Vague guidance can impact numerous targets simultaneously, but alteration, fabrication, and inception require scaling levels of power and attention.
In payment for her abilities, Mab does not sleep. Instead, she can gain some mental and physical reprieve from meditation. When she has exerted herself, she regains the ability to sleep but cannot dream.
Mab has spent thousands of years perfecting her affinity to an art and can freely manipulate the dreams of others. She can choose the nature of the dream, crafting whole worlds in fine detail or simply directing the active dreams of her targets. She can gain a sense of the content of one's dreams and, with more refined effort, can "enter" dreams via meditation and alteration. Vague guidance can impact numerous targets simultaneously, but alteration, fabrication, and inception require scaling levels of power and attention.
In payment for her abilities, Mab does not sleep. Instead, she can gain some mental and physical reprieve from meditation. When she has exerted herself, she regains the ability to sleep but cannot dream.
Celestial Alignment
Legend has it that Mab was born beneath a blue moon. Whether or not this is true or if it had any bearance on her development is widely debated. Regardless of the timing or the phase, she follows the rhythms of the moons. Her magic is stronger when a moon is in the sky (regardless of the time of day), and is the most potent at the winter solstice.
Elemental Alignment
Born of air and light, Mab is blessed with a unique combination of gifts. Many attribute her icy demeanor to her elemental predisposition, and it is often very cold in her company.
Touched by moonlight, she has the ability to create light from nothing and has a particular fondness of using moonlight in various tricks. When conditions are right, Mab can change the color of her skin or hair (or feathers, in her wild shape) to glow like moonlight.
Touched by moonlight, she has the ability to create light from nothing and has a particular fondness of using moonlight in various tricks. When conditions are right, Mab can change the color of her skin or hair (or feathers, in her wild shape) to glow like moonlight.
Animal Shape
Mab can take the form of a black owl. As duanann, this secondary shape is unique to her but as familiar as the humanoid body she was born into.
